


No Mary-Jane Watson

by jay_girl88



Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: Angsty Schmoop, Awesome Jensen, Flying Sex, Hurt Jensen, Jealous Jared, M/M, Protective Chris, Protective Jared, Superhero Jared
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-01
Updated: 2015-05-01
Packaged: 2018-03-26 17:15:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 14,940
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3858526
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jay_girl88/pseuds/jay_girl88
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jared's a superhero, and Jensen? He's no Mary-Jane Watson!</p>
<p>Sometimes, the Superhero of the story doesn't have to give up his significant other.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lovesickmelody](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lovesickmelody/gifts).



> This is a birthday present to lovesickmelody! Happy belated birthday, hon!
> 
> Hope y'all enjoy!
> 
> Warning: This work contains cuss words!

Jared Padalecki had the most awesome life in the whole world. 

You wouldn’t say, given the fact that he seemed like a free-lance journo going nowhere fast, living a nerdy, practically hermit lifestyle, sponging off his boyfriend. In reality, though, none of that is true. Except maybe the part where he sponges off his boyfriend.

But it isn’t without good reason. Which leads to the reason why Jared has the most awesome life in the whole world, as clearly stated prior.

Jared wasn’t sure exactly what part of his DNA had done what for this to happen, but he had been born with the ability to fly, super-strength, and to cap it all off, super-sensitive hearing that ensured he actually could hear a pin drop. Over time, he learned to hone his skills, reign them in so people wouldn’t get suspicious. His parents were always supportive and loving, and it helped him a great deal in learning to channel his immense power. 

Then the bank robbery happened. 

His father, in trying to shield his mother, was shot dead, and his mother followed soon after, to be made an example of. Jared was struck by grief and all-consuming rage, and the only thought in his mind was finding those responsible and making them pay with blood. He hunted viciously and relentlessly, letting his health take a back-seat, and even when the police had custody of the perps, no one was able to stop him or convince him to take even a second off. 

Until Jensen.

His saving grace had come in the form of a successful lawyer with a flair for art and a championship-level set of pool-playing skills. Jensen crashed into his life when the court case for his parents’ murders had begun. He was a lawyer starting out at the firm, there only to observe as they took the case defending the bastards that were being charged. Jared had hated him by association at first, hating it even more when he found himself unable to stop thinking about the man with the dirty-blonde hair and wide green eyes. The trial had seemed to be tipping in favor of the defense at first, as they argued the shooters had done it under the orders of someone else, and Jared had lost his shit. He went to his car to fetch the silenced .45 with single-minded determination, when he was stopped by none other than one Jensen Ackles. Who, by his estimation, should still have been in the courthouse.

“Don’t,” was all he had said, piercing emerald orbs seeming to see through his soul. “Wait for the verdict before you do something you’ll regret.”

He had hurried back inside and after a few minutes’ hesitation, Jared followed. He was just in time to see the prosecution play a video clip with the shooters’ voices clearly stating they were working alone. A tape that, likely, only the defense attorneys had had access to.

His parents’ murderers were sentenced to life imprisonment. Jensen lost his job and had to face a 6-month trial wherein his previous firm sued him for breach of contract and violation of lawyer-client confidentiality. Jared taxed his bank account and tried to hire the best lawyers in the state to represent Jensen- as a thank you for doing the right thing, he defended- but the strong-willed, beautiful man had declined the offer, saying that he would never expect anything in return for doing what was right. He ended up defending himself and beating the lawyer he’d originally been shadowing, with an innocent verdict based on the lack of evidence from the prosecution’s side. After his case, Jensen had been immediately picked up by JD Morgan, a man who ran his firm with honor and by a creed of honesty, and could appreciate the reasons behind Jensen throwing the case. 

Jared had no clue what to do with himself once all the fuss had died down. He had been burning off some steam by flying over the lake he used to come to as a kid, and that was when Jensen had spotted him. Turned out, Jensen had found solace from Crystal Lake ever since he moved to town, and had been de-stressing when Jared had flown overhead. 

Naturally, Jensen had fled, and Jared half-expected there to be scientists, cages and a SWAT team at his house by week’s end, but nothing different had come to pass. Jared, unable to work out the green-eyed man’s game, had hunted Jensen down, finally finding him at his apartment, and the stunning man had explained very matter-of-factly that it was, quote, unquote, none of his business if there was an undercover superhero roaming the city. 

Frustratingly indecipherable as he was being, it was the only reasonable course of action left for Jared to shove Jensen up against the nearest wall and devour his mouth like he was a drowning man and Jensen, a lifeboat.

Jared had ended up telling Jensen everything, and not once did Jensen judge him, or act repulsed. Instead, he fussed over Jared, making him eat something and hugging him when the story took a hard turn. Jared told Jensen how often he wanted to help people, but couldn’t out of fear of being exposed, and just like that, The Blue Falcon had been born.

Jensen designed and made the costume for him, and somewhere between pouring his heart out and planning a secret identity and laughing until his sides hurt, Jared fell in love. The anger and pain that had taken over his soul was replaced by the warmth and light that only love could bring. 

That was five years ago. Now, Jared was writing for a living, he was a superhero saving the people of his city, he lived in an awesome apartment, and most importantly, he had Jensen.

So yes. Jared Padalecki had the most awesome life in the whole world.

###

“Jay? That you?”

Jared grinned as his boyfriend’s voice came from the general direction of their bedroom, setting his satchel down and running a hand tiredly through his disheveled hair.

“Naw, it’s an axe murderer, I’m here to kill you,” he shouted back, a teasing lilt to his voice.

“Hi, Mr. Axe-Murderer. I’ll have you know that killing someone with an axe leaves 16 percent more evidence than killing someone in any other way,” Jensen retorted. “Might want to change your M.O. if not your entire profession.”

Jared leaned against the doorway to the bedroom, whistling appreciatively as Jensen pulled on his leather jacket over his green polar neck and the jeans that hugged his ass in all the most perfect ways. 

“Going somewhere?” he arched an eyebrow. “Or do I get to pull all of those things very slowly off you?”

“Both,” Jensen grinned cheekily. “Come with me? Please?”

“Where to?” Jared asked curiously, already pulling off his button-down so he could have a quick shower before they went…well, wherever Jen wanted to go. He felt badly for always being so busy these days, but bad guys just seemed to be upping the ante recently. He’d cancelled 6 dates in the past 2 months, been late to four and downright forgot one of them completely. Jensen was always understanding, if a little exasperated and worried about Jared’s well-being, but Jared knew how lucky he was to have Jensen and had been looking for ways to make it up to him. 

“O’Riley’s,” Jensen replied, waving his hand in the general direction of where the bar was. “Some people from work wanted to go.”

“Celebrating something?” Jared asked, coming behind Jensen and wrapping his arms around his boyfriend’s waist. “Win another case?”

“Celebrating, yes, but not about a case,” Jensen answered, leaning against him with a satisfied hum. “I got a small…thing…” he hesitated.

Jared kissed the sensitive spot just below Jensen’s ear encouragingly. “Tell me, baby,” he murmured.

“A small promotion…I made partner,” Jensen announced shyly, and Jared’s eyes popped open in shock. He huffed a laugh and turned Jensen around in his arms, picking him up and swinging him in a circle as unrestrained happiness and pride in his boyfriend filled him. “M’not a girl, put me down Jay!” Jensen laughed.

“Small?! Congratulations, baby, I’m so proud of you!” Jared exclaimed, ignoring his boyfriend and swooping down to crush their lips together in a hungry kiss. “You must be the youngest person to make partner!”

“Something like that,” Jensen laughed, beaming at him. “I’m so glad you could make it, Jay. I was worried you wouldn’t be able to.”

Jared felt a pang of guilt. “I know, baby. I’m sorry this week has been so crazy.”

“You don’t need to apologize Jay,” Jensen kissed him sweetly. “I’m just glad the guys arranged this for tonight, and not Monday night.”

“You knew on Monday?” Jared asked, hurt filling him. “Why didn’t you say?”

“I’m sorry, babe, I got distracted,” Jensen cringed. “You cancelled our lunch, and when you came home you had blood all over your shirt and a cut on your head. I was more concerned about you at the time,” Jensen answered truthfully, fingers absently brushing over the healing scar. Jared felt guilt rush him again.

“I’m…”

“Nope!” Jensen cut him off sunnily, grinning at him. “No apologizing. You’re saving the world, I think that’s a fairly reasonable explanation,” he chuckled lightly. “I’m just happy you’ll be with me tonight. Now go change.” He made a shooing motion with his hands, and Jared shook his head with a smile, raising his hands in a motion of surrender.

He had the most awesome boyfriend ever.

###

Unfortunately, he wasn’t the only one who saw what a treasure Jensen was.

“Hey Jen-ster!” a loud voice called over the sound of the jukebox as they entered the bar. Jensen grinned at a dark-haired, attractive guy, pulling Jared’s arm as he moved towards him.

“Matt, my man,” Jensen laughed, hugging the guy and letting him go with a slap to the back. “Meet my boyfriend, Jared. Jay, this is my co-worker, Matt Bomer.”

“I heard so much about you,” Matt held out a hand, speaking almost disdainfully even as he presented a smile. Jared’s hackles rose, but he took the man’s hand nonetheless.

“Funny, I never hear anything about you,” he smiled hardly, barely extending any effort to squeeze the guy’s hand just this side of too painful. Jensen elbowed him in warning and he let go, trying not to smile as Matt massaged his hand, aiming a glare at Jared. 

“That’s probably because you never have time to listen to Jensen talk about his life,” Matt muttered irritably, and while Jensen may not have heard that over the sound of the squealing red-head that saw him next, Jared sure as hell did. 

Before he could ask the asshole what his problem was, Jensen was introducing him to Danneel, the bouncy red-head, and then several others who were all far friendlier than one Matt Bomer. It was only when Jensen went to get the next round of drinks that Jared had the opportunity to talk to him.

“What was that supposed to mean?” he growled, crossing his arms over his chest. “When you said that about me not having time to listen to Jensen?”

“It’s obvious,” Matt sneered, any traces of fake politeness now gone. “Jensen’s the only one who doesn’t seem to see it. You cancel on him more often than a cheating husband cancels on his wife. He takes on a bigger workload, saying that you have to work a lot too. Not once have I seen him spoil himself, and I happen to know that when he broke open the massive money-laundering case- which we had to collaborate with the FBI on- he spent the night doing paperwork while everyone went out celebrating because he said he wouldn’t want to go without you, and your phone went straight to voicemail.” Jared cringed, remembering the day his cell had been crushed under the delivery van that was trying to smuggle heroin across the border. Jensen had been frantic with worry and in reassuring him, Jared had forgotten to even ask how that case had gone. 

Matt, however, wasn’t done. “He works himself to the bone and never once took time off, but he also never looks like anyone bothered to make him take care of himself for a change. Day or night, he escorts himself to and from cases, even if it’s one as serious as a serial killer’s or a drug-lord’s. All of this, and never, not once, has he spoken a word of complaint against you. You’re the sun and the moon to him, and you don’t even fucking see it,” he scoffed, aiming a disgusted look at Jared. “He deserves better. Did you even remember that the dinner you cancelled on this past Tuesday was your anniversary?”

_“Morning, baby. I’m sorry I missed our date last night, fucking hostage situation on Sloane Street.”_

_“That’s okay, Jay, nothing important. Got you something, though.”_

_“What’s this for, baby?”_

_“…No reason, Jay. Just ‘cuz I love you.”_

Jared paled as the memory of the following morning came to him. How could he have possibly forgotten their anniversary? What’s worse, was that Jensen hadn’t been mad. Just…accepting.

Accepting of his reason…or accepting of the position he thought he held in Jared’s life? After everyone else who needed saving?

“So you didn’t even remember after the fact,” Matt remarked snidely. “You’re a real keeper.”

“Stop telling my boyfriend all my crazy-office stories,” Jensen popped up behind them, snaking his arms around Jared’s shoulders. Automatically, he curled his arms around his boyfriend’s waist, but for the first time, he wondered whether he was deserving of being able to.

Matt laughed, his earlier antagonistic aggressiveness gone. “What, like how you super-glued Bobby’s hand to the coffee tin when he forgot to make a new batch?”

“I was tired, it was early, and I needed coffee,” Jensen protested, laughing in a way that Jared hadn’t heard him do in a long time. “Not my fault he was raised by wolves.”

“Is that also your excuse for the infamous Christmas Party Catastrophe?” Matt shot back, the affection in his eyes far too obvious to the seething Jared.

“I claim no responsibility for what happened that night,” Jensen’s eyes sparkled mischievously. “The perpetrator remains at large.”

“I didn’t know you guys had a Christmas party,” Jared mumbled, trying not to sound petty. “You didn’t tell me, Jen.”

“I did,” Jensen defended. “I told you the night before, but that was the day that the bridge nearly collapse remember? You were stuck on the other side.”

Jared remembered the night, getting the people stuck on the slowly-crumbling bridge to safety, but it seemed that he would have forgotten the party even if he had finished in time.

Through more and more shared stories with Jensen’s friends, Jared realized with mounting guilt just how absent he’d been in his boyfriend’s life. How had Jensen always been so accepting of his neglect? When had he stopped making a point of asking every day how Jensen’s day had been, and what cases he was working on? At which point had everything become about healing Jared, and never about healing Jensen?

It all came to a head with Danneel. 

“Hey Jen-J!” the red-head grabbed Jensen’s arm, pulling at the collar of his polar neck. “How’s the throat feeling?”

Jensen jerked his head back as though he’d been shocked. “I’m fine,” he said shortly. “Small throat ache,” he told Jared sheepishly. “Thought I might be coming down with the flu, turns out I was wrong.”

“No, Jensen, I’m not talking about that,” the girl slurred in confusion. “I’m talking about D’Abblio trying to…”

“Shut up, Danni,” Jensen hissed, paling. Panic filled Jared’s chest, constricting like a boa, as the name registered with him.

Duke D’Abblio was the name of the guy that killed his parents.

Jared felt himself being dragged through the crowds, unable to do much but follow his boyfriend into the quiet that the alleyway provided. 

“Jay, you gotta calm down, take deep breaths,” Jensen was telling him worriedly. “C’mon, babe, you can do it, there you go…everything is okay, I promise…shhh…”

“What is she talking about, Jensen?” Jared demanded hoarsely, tugging insistently at Jensen’s polar fleece. “Show me!”

“Jared just wait,” Jensen tried to bat his hands away, but then, he was only human. Jared held both his hands in one of his, pulling almost desperately at the material and ignoring Jensen’s struggles. Even in the muted light, Jared could see the blue-black fingerprint impressions that decorated the delicate skin of his boyfriend’s throat. 

“Oh, God,” he choked, feeling his heart leap into his throat as the world tilted around him. Jensen managed to pull his arms away, and he wrapped him up in a bear hug, trying to sooth him. Jared clung to his boyfriend, reassuring himself that Jensen was still there, still alive. “What happened?” he finally managed to gasp out.

“D’Abblio broke out, came after me for sabotaging his case,” Jensen explained concisely, as clinically as if he was talking about a case. “I was working late, but thankfully JD was there. He tried to choke me, JD called 911, he’s back in prison and I was none the worse for wear. The bruises look worse than they actually are, Jay, I promise.”

“Why didn’t you tell me, Jensen?” Jared snapped, fear giving way to anger, namely because the anger was easier to deal with. His boyfriend didn’t rise to the bait.

“Because you were a mess after everything happened, Jay,” he explained calmly. “I didn’t want to put you through any more of that when everything worked out in the end.”

“Did you go to the hospital?” he asked, grazing his fingers anxiously over the blemished skin. 

Jensen nodded. “Matt gave me a ride.”

Possessive jealousy roared through Jared, and combined with the emotional toll of D’Abblio and the constant proof from the evening that Jensen deserved a whole lot better, he snapped. 

“Oh he did?” he asked sarcastically. “And tell me, did you ride him too, or wasn’t there enough time for a round two?”

Jensen jerked backwards, as if Jared had struck him. “You know I don’t mean it like that, Jared,” he said incredulously. “What the hell is your problem? How could you accuse me of something like that?”

“Oh, I don’t know, you and Bomer seem awfully chummy,” he threw his hands up, narrowing his eyes. “And obviously I’m not taking care of you! He said himself that you’re the only one that doesn’t seem to see it!”

“Did you ever think that maybe I’m the only one that _does_ see it?” Jensen snapped back. “That _does_ see that you’re always doing your best, and that you love me?”

Jared wanted to let the words comfort him, derail him, but for some reason, he also didn’t want to be off the hook. “I forgot our anniversary!” he hurled out.

“There was a hostage situation!” Jensen shouted back. “And why the fuck am I going on the defense for being understanding?!”

“Just…Because!” Jared hissed, fully aware of how unreasonable his argument was.

“Do you want me to scream at you for all the times you don’t answer your phone?” Jensen asked acerbically. “Give you the silent treatment for forgetting our four-year anniversary? Ask to take a break from us for all the missed dates?”

“No!” Jared yelled. He let out a cavernous sigh. “I don’t know what I want.”

No. Not entirely true. He wanted Jensen to be with someone who could protect him. Be there for him. Take care of him. Someone like _fucking Matt._

“I think we should see other people.” He pushed the words past frozen lips. Jensen paled next to him, taking in a gasping breath.

“You don’t mean that…” he whispered, anguish in his tone.

“I mean it. I can’t do this with you anymore, Jensen,” Jared spoke hardly, biting his lip hard to stop the tears. 

“Jay, babe, don’t do this…” Jensen pleaded, tears falling from green eyes. “I love you. We’ll…we’ll fight more, or whatever, we can...can work this out…”

“No, we can’t,” he shook his head numbly. “I’m sorry Jensen.”

For the first time in his life, Jared hated his ability to fly away.

###

“You’re a gigantic fucking moron.”

Jared gaped at his best friend. Chad Michael Murray, on his best day, was not someone anyone would consider to be protective over Jensen. Of all the dickhead, infuriating responses Jared had expected when he’d shown up proclaiming that he’d broken up with Jensen because Jensen deserved better, this response had never even made the list. 

Chad waved him in nonchalantly, as though Jared should have expected that he’d say that, and handed him a beer. 

“What’s the bet I can sum this up for you by the time you’re through with that beer?” Chad asked with a smirk.

“Ten bucks,” Jared answered faintly, taking a swig of the ice-cold beverage in an invitation to start. Chad took a deep breath.

“Somehow, not gonna ask how, but somehow, you realized that with all the missed dates accumulating, you’ve been neglecting your boyfriend. Judging from the fact that Jensen was alone at home when I phoned you to congratulate you- and mock you, of course- you also forgot your anniversary. I’m taking a wild guess here, and saying that Jensen didn’t chew you out. Anyway, with all this, you realize he deserves someone who can love him better, yadda, yadda, yadda, emo, brooding, sulking. You break up with him thinking it would be for his own good. Leave him heartbroken. Come to your awesome best friend because you can’t figure out for yourself that no one will love you as much as Jensen, just like no one will love him as much as you do. You have to have aforementioned awesome- and extremely sexy- best friend there to point out that Jensen never busted your chops because for some reason he always understood. That Jensen was too legit to harbor silent anger at you, and ergo, must not be thinking about this as hard as you obviously are. Then this God of a best buddy of yours reminds you that yes, Jensen probably shouldn’t put up with your shit, but Jesus Christ on a pop tart, you should be grateful he wants you and that he loves you enough to be with you, instead of making the choice for him and pushing him on to someone that will probably not love him like you do, nor have a mouth-watering best friend for him to drool over on the side. Thereafter, your too-good-to-be-true pal also has to point out in a rare moment of total seriousness, that he has never seen a couple more right for each other, except maybe Ross and Rachel, because dude, _Friends_ , am I right? But then you see the light and realize that from the start, your gift-from-the-Gods best friend was right and you are a gigantic fucking moron, and you proceed to chase after the love of your life after laying down a tenner because you realize your beer isn’t finished by the time I finish this sentence. Questions?”

Chad took a steadying breath and raised an eyebrow at him. Jared was shell-shocked, thinking more about how valid an argument Chad had made in saying that Jensen wasn’t the one starting the fight over the missed dates. All of this had started with Matt.

Matt, who wanted to make a move on Jensen.

Jensen, Jared knew, was unaware of the schoolboy crush his co-worker had for him. The fact of the matter though, was that the blame lay with him. Yes, he had been trying to protect Jensen, in whatever warped way, but at the moment, all he’d done was fight with Jensen for being neglected by him, make him apologize for Jared’s faults, and then break up with him and sabotage his happiness by running away.

“You’re right, I am a gigantic fucking moron,” Jared muttered obligatorily, swishing the remnants of his beer around the bottle while he dug in his pocket for a ten. 

“Fix this,” Chad advised seriously. “I rag on him a lot, but I like Jensen,” he shrugged. “Guy’s genuine, and he always gives as good as he gets.”

He threw the money on the table and bolted. “Gonna get Jensen back!” he threw over his shoulder. 

“About fucking time!” Chad yelled back.

Huh. Wait till Jensen heard that Chad was the almighty voice of reason.

But first…groveling.

###

Groveling would be a lot easier to do if Jared had a clue where Jensen was. 

He entered the bar, scanning Jensen’s work crowd but not finding him there. What he found, instead, was Matt nursing a broken nose. 

“Jared, hey!” Danneel came to him, grinning smugly. “You missed the whole thing. I’m sorry Matt was an asshole to you.”

“Um…”Jared scrunched up his forehead in confusion. “You might want to elaborate there, Danneel.”

“Jensen stormed in about a half hour ago and decked Matt,” she supplied, still smirking. “Told him that whatever problem he had, he had better not talk to you the way he did again, or Jensen wouldn’t be held responsible for what he did in return.”

“Jensen?” Jared asked incredulously, pride and fierce love bursting through him. “My Jensen? My tame, docile boyfriend?”

“The very one,” Danneel cackled. “He looked wrecked when he left, though. Be sure to tell him that even if Matt causes a fuss, we’ve got his back. He’s probably worried he’ll lose partner, but even JD knows that Matt goes stalker-overboard when he crushes on someone.”

Apprehension curled in tendrils of fear at the pit of Jared’s stomach. Jensen thought they were over, and he just did something that he thought would lose him his job. That made for an awful headspace, and who knew where he was now?

“I need to get to him,” Jared muttered worriedly, thanking Danneel and jogging out of the bar. 

“You’re an asshole, Padalecki!”

Uh-oh. There was only one voice that was as gruff as that, and Jared, superhero though he was, was scared shitless of its owner.

Chris Kane.

Jensen’s best friend was shorter than them both, but likely more imposing. He was a loner, preferring not to interact with large crowds and generally only speaking when he deemed it necessary, with the obvious exception being with Jensen. He grew up with Jensen and had been there when Jensen’s parents and brother died in a car wreck, and resultantly, had always been fiercely overprotective of him.

Which of course meant that Jared was puppy-chow. Or, more accurately, Kane-chow.

“You want to tell me why Jensen phoned me a half hour ago in fucking tears, saying that he needed me to come get him because you broke up with him?” Chris growled, pushing into Jared’s personal space. “Let’s not even talk about the fact that the last time Jensen cried in front of me was about 10 years ago.”

“I messed up, Chris, I know,” Jared readily admitted, holding out his palms in a gesture of surrender. “But right now, I need to make it up to Jen before I lose him forever, you can kick my ass later. Me and Chad will even help you. But I need to see Jensen _right the fuck now._ ”

“Wait, he’s not here?” Chris asked, frowning. “He asked me to get him from here.”

“He’s not with you,” Jared realized, his face draining of blood. Something was wrong, he could feel it in his bones. “Chris, we need to find him,” Jared intoned desperately, clutching the long-haired man’s arm. “We need to find him right now.”

Chris’ eyes turned worried, but he didn’t question Jared. Wordlessly, Chris chose inside the bar while Jared checked the perimeter. 

Terror hit him like a boulder dropping down his stomach when Chris turned up as empty-handed as he. 

He dropped to his haunches, gripping his phone and stabbing the speed-dial one button as though it were at fault. “Pick up, baby, please, pick up,” he prayed fervently.

_“This is Jensen, I’m busy, so leave a message…”_

“Damnit!” Jared cursed, feeling nauseous. Had D’Abblio gotten out again? Or was it someone from a case Jen was working? 

“Stop,” Chris commanded lowly, pulling him from his despairing thoughts. “Don’t think the worst. Maybe he walked home.”

Jared nodded jerkily, and Chris flicked his head in the direction of the passenger seat of his Jeep. Jared climbed in, hoping to every God he could think of that he’d find his boyfriend waiting at home.

But then, life was never that simple.

Instead of his boyfriend, Jared found a simple note tacked to their door:

_I know who you are_

Underneath it was a crudely drawn picture of a bird in blue ink.

###

Their home was ransacked, drawers pulled haphazardly, a shattered lamp, papers and clothes littering the floor. There was another note on their dresser:

_He’s a pretty one, aint he?_

Jared was fuming, his fear taking a backseat to the vengeful rage that hadn’t consumed him since the night his parents died. It seemed without Jensen, there was nothing to combat the darkness.

His costume hung draped over the bed, making it obvious how Jensen’s captor found out his identity. Chris had taken the information surprisingly well, simply remarking that he got why Jared missed so many dates now. 

Had everyone and their neighbor noticed Jared forgetting dates?

But that wasn’t their primary focus. Getting his boyfriend back, was. 

A knock on the door pulled him from his reverie as he studied the handwriting on the note, trying to think if he recognized it from anywhere. Chris wrenched open the door, the hope on his face crumbling when only a brightly wrapped package was on the floor.

A bright green bow was wrapped around it, the box mockingly cheerful in the wake of their despair. Another handwritten note accompanied it, this one making Jared pale faster than a criminal sentenced to death row. 

_A present, for you_

Hands shaking uncontrollably, Jared opened the package, fear clogging up his throat and restricting his breath. 

He didn’t know whether to cry in relief or curse in alarm when he saw the blood-stained polar fleece Jensen was wearing earlier that night. His decision was made for him when he lifted the sweater up to reveal a photo tacked to the bottom of the box.

It showed Jensen, strung up from chains connected to the ceiling, sporting a bust lip, a cut on his head and a mass of angry bruising over his left rib-cage, eyes screwed shut in pain. On the back of the photo, in blood red ink, were the words:

_I thought this would be better than 1000 words_

Jared let out an impressive string of profanities, punching his hand through the couch idly wondering how mad Jensen was going to be about that when he came home.

Because Jared was going to get him home.

How else was he going to grovel and beg Jensen to take him back?

“Did you phone Jensen?” Chris asked suddenly. Jared glanced at him; the man wasn’t doing much better than himself. His eyes were worried and his hair was disheveled from where he’d run his hands through it. If Jared didn’t know better, he’d have said that he spotted the occasional tremor racking the otherwise implacable man’s frame.

“Of course I did,” he snapped irritably. Like Jensen, though, Chris seemed to have a never-ending supply of Zen against snappy retorts.

“Isn’t your friend Murray some kind of techno geek? If the phone is still ringing, can’t he trace the cell signal?”

“I don’t know,” Jared admitted, cautious hope budding in his chest. “But right now it’s all we’ve got.”

###

“You’re the _BLUE FUCKING FALCON?!_ ”

Suffice it to say, Chad was not taking the news as well as Chris was.

“You’re my best friend, and you’ve been a superhero for five fucking years without saying a single word to me?” Chad screeched disbelievingly. “Do you have any idea how much more often I’d get laid if I had that card up my sleeve?”

“Jensen’s missing,” Jared told his friend urgently, not bothering to hide the bleak desperation in his soul. “I need to know if you can track his phone.”

“Is it ringing?” Chad asked, his face twisting in concern as he turned serious. Jared nodded once. “Good, then I can track it.”

Chad pulled the charger out of his laptop and set it on the desk, paying them no mind as he began tapping furiously at the keys. A tense silence descended upon them and Jared tried not to imagine all the things his boyfriend was going through. If they had hurt him any more…

“It’s tracing the last known location,” Chad informed them solemnly before Jared could think of all the dark promises he would fulfil. “It might take some time.”

“We don’t have any fucking time, Chad!” Jared snarled, the tumultuous emotions inside him raging like a hurricane. “Who knows what…”

Jared was interrupted by three alerts, from his and Chris’ phone, and from Chad’s computer, all ringing shrilly with an email alert. He opened it, and automatically, a video began playing.

_Jensen was panting, strung up just like the photo, but with a few more bruises marring his torso. He spat a mouthful of blood on to the floor, struggling in ragged, painful breaths._

_“You’ve got a pretty one here, don’t you Falcon?”_

The slimy voice was one Jared recognized all too well as Rafael don Magio, the serial killer he helped put away about a month ago. Jensen was working the case too, which explained why the killer had come to their apartment in the first place, but the judge had denied him bail. He was supposed to be in a maximum security prison cell…but, he obviously wasn’t.

Jared growled, panic tearing his chest into ribbons as the man himself came on to the screen. Kane choked and Chad gasped, both of them obviously recognizing the man from his trial.

_“Very loyal, too,” he commented. “He won’t tell me your real identity, and I had to get your email the entire city in the hopes that you receive this video. Nonetheless, hopefully all you wonderful people will enjoy seeing the lovely Jensen here suffer in silence for his superhero lover.”_

_Rafael punched Jensen without warning, making him splutter and cough and choke in pain. Rafael simply chuckled, and ran his hand through Jensen’s bloodied hair._

_“Maybe I’ll have some fun with you first. Would be a shame to let those cock-sucking lips go to waste.” Rafael leered at Jensen lewdly, and Jensen lifted his face long enough to spit at him._

Jared’s burning pride quickly turned to rage when the man retaliated with a splitting backhand. 

_“I’m going to kill your little pet after we get better acquainted, Falcon,” Rafael spoke conversationally. “Maybe once you find me, I’ll be done taping everything, so you can see exactly how he begged for his life.”_

_“Don’t come, Falcon, he’ll kill you!”_

Jensen looked to have summoned his last reserves as he cried out, and Jared’s heart ached with the emotion in his lover’s voice. Even with everything he’d done, Jensen was still protecting him. It took all his willpower not to crush the phone in his hand when Rafael punched him in the throat, making Jensen gasp for breath.

_“Such a brave little soldier,” he sneered. “Ciao now.”_

The video went blank, and the only sound in the room for a split second was their labored breathing. 

Then Jared hurtled to the bathroom and threw up the contents of his stomach. 

Every time he closed his eyes, he saw his Jensen, bruised and battered and telling him to protect himself. It was more painful than any blow he’d ever been dealt. Losing his parents had been hard enough, but if he were to lose Jensen? Jared would lose any reason he had to keep living.

“Jay-rod?” Chad’s surprisingly gentle voice came from the doorway to the bathroom. “Come on, man, now’s not the time to lose your shit. We have a location, and Jensen needs you.”

As though the words were magic in themselves, Jared wrenched open the tap, rinsed his mouth and washed his face. “Let’s go.”

###

It took some convincing, but Chad and Chris finally agreed to stay back and contact the authorities for back up while Jared went to the warehouse broadcasting Jensen’s cell signal. It was rundown and non-descript, and Jared had to fight back the urge to burst through the ceiling. He crept around the side, nearly sobbing in relief when he heard Jensen’s faint voice.

“You’re even more of…a moron than I…initially thought,” he was saying through harsh breathing. “The Falcon will…never be dumb enough to…to set off the trip wires on the ceiling…or to…detonate the…landmines at the front...entrance.”

Jared felt pride coat every pore in his body. He didn’t know how, but Jensen knew he was there and was warning him of the traps. The inflection in his voice couldn’t be mistaken, and Jared sent him a silent thank you for being as strong as he was and holding on. 

“The Falcon will come rushing in thinking that I am having my wicked way with his little fuck toy,” Rafael drawled. “He will make a mistake.”

“He’s the smartest man I know,” Jensen spat weakly. “And he’s my best friend. Nothing more.”

Jared’s heart broke with the pain he heard in Jensen’s voice; pain that hadn’t even seeped through at the hands of Rafael, but through his own callous words and thoughtless running away. He had a lot to fix once he’d gotten Jensen out of here.

“So you don’t think he’ll mind if I have a little fun?” Rafael jeered sleazily, and Jared heard the sound of a zipper being opened.

Jared decided to fuck finesse.

“You put a single finger on him and there won’t be enough of your body left to make an ID, do I make myself clear?” he snarled, flying into the room and expertly dodging the trip wires haphazardly strewn over the place. Jensen’s eyes widened, looking both scared and relieved, and Jared landed in front of him, shielding his boyfriend with his body.

“My, it seems like the Falcon cares for you more than you’ll admit, Jenny,” Rafael tutted gleefully. 

“Don’t fucking call him that,” Jared warned him dangerously. “Don’t you even speak to him, ever again.”

“Touchy, touchy, touchy,” the serial killer sang, holding his hands out innocently. “Now, I’m guessing you’ve already called the cops to arrest my ass, and honestly, I more or less expected that. But let’s see who I can take out before I go.”

Rafael pulled a Glock out of the waistband of his jeans and swung it casually around. Jared made sure to block Jensen’s body with his, ignoring his boyfriend’s weak protests and struggles.

“Let the boy have his fun,” Rafael chided him mockingly when he molded his back to Jensen’s front, arms spread in a protective arc. He aimed the gun and shot at the roof with deadly accuracy, hitting the chains, and Jared had barely enough time to turn before Jensen was falling with a yelp. He caught his boyfriend against him pulling him to his chest and snapping the chains off him, wincing at the bruises he saw scattered over Jensen’s frame. 

“Gotcha, baby,” he whispered, so only his lover could hear him. “I’m here now, I gotcha.”

Busy soothing Jensen, he didn’t notice Rafael take aim a second time behind his back. 

Jensen noticed.

Before he knew what was happening, Jensen had moved, slipping under his arm and throwing himself over Jared with an anguished cry.

A single shot fired. 

Jensen jerked with a breathy little mewl, and fell on to Jared.

A SWAT team stormed the building.

Jared felt a strange, hot liquid trickle on to his hands where he was holding Jensen up.

Why was he holding Jensen up?

“I’m sorry…” his boyfriend whispered.

And then the bright red caught Jared’s eye.

“NO!!!!”

###

_“C’mere, I got a surprise for you!”_

_Jared grinned in amusement at his boyfriend- and he relished in the title while doing so. Jensen had only officially been his for a week now, and Jared took every opportunity to remind himself that the gorgeous, amazing man was his. His forever, if he had a say in it._

_“Coming,” he nodded, following Jensen at a slower, more dignified lope. The green-eyed man scowled at him._

_“You’re lagging, Jay!” Jensen complained while Jared thrilled at the nickname. “If you don’t hurry it up, I’m gonna give your surprise to someone else.”_

_“By all means,” Jared smirked, testing the man's patience. He should have known better._

_“What if my surprise is a strip tease?” Jensen asked, winking cheekily. Jared growled, his eyes darkening with lust as he double-stepped to catch up with a laughing Jensen. “That’s what I thought,” he nodded smugly. “Never test a lawyer.”_

_“I’ll remember that,” Jared sniffed. “Now what’s the surprise? You know you’re months off my birthday, right?”_

_“Not a birthday present, doofus,” Jensen rolled his eyes. “More like…oh, just look!”_

_He opened his bedroom door with flourish, and the first thing that caught Jared’s eye was the blue and black costume on the bed._

_It looked soft, but durable, a blue one-piece with black tribal designs down the arms and similar swirls on the chest that resembled a falcon in flight. Above the neck was an intricate black mask, constructed to cover both eyes and half of the face, all with the same tribal marks._

_The Blue Falcon._

_“You made it a real thing,” Jared whispered in awe, fingering the costume reverently and shivering at the cool, smooth feel against the pads of his fingers. “How?”_

_“I called in a couple favors,” Jensen shrugged nonchalantly, even as his eyes sparkled. “You like it?”_

_“I…God, Jen, I love it,” Jared mumbled._

_“Jay,” Jensen started almost hesitantly. “If you want to be a superhero, then I don’t see anything stopping you. It’s certainly not me, I promise I’d always support you 100% if you wanted to take this on. The choice is with you. I just…I wanted you to have the option.”_

_Jared swept Jensen up in his arms, kissing his boyfriend until they were both breathless. “You’re amazing,” he whispered. He wanted to tell Jensen he loved him, but even for a superhero that was moving too fast._

_“You’re pretty amazing yourself, Falcon,” Jensen grinned, and God was it amazing to hear the way the name fell off his boyfriend’s tongue. “Promise me something, though, Jay.”_

_“Anything.”_

_“No matter what happens, your identity comes first,” Jensen said firmly. “I don’t care what happens, the world never gets to know that The Blue Falcon is Jared Tristan Padalecki. Whatever the consequences, promise me you’ll never let them know, okay? I never want to have people out for your blood and trying to cross-examine you.”_

_Jared nodded, falling harder and faster for the man in his arms with every word. “I promise.”_

_Sighing in relief, Jensen smiled. “You wanna try it on?”_

###

With a muted gasp, Jared’s eyes opened. Blinking rapidly as the events of the past 24 hours caught up with him, Jared felt a now-familiar fear thrum inside him.

He remembered using every last atom of his willpower to fly away when the medics took Jensen. He couldn’t break the promise he’d made all those years ago, even if it damn near killed him. He’d stumbled back to Chad’s and explained jerkily what happened as he tore frantically at his blood-stained costume.

Jensen’s blood.

Jared had promptly thrown up again as he thought about that, vowing to burn the costume to a crisp as he stepped into the shower and scrubbed almost violently at the red splatters on his skin. Thankfully, he’d kept a spare set of clothes in his car in preparation for Falcon-related wardrobe changes, and he was back at the hospital as Jared Padalecki, concerned boyfriend, within 15 minutes. 

Jensen had been wheeled straight into surgery and a nurse had brought Jared to this room to wait. Maybe it was the stress of everything, but he’d fallen asleep, apparently.

Now, though…there was nothing to distract from the tension and terror and worry. He shuddered at the sterile smell that assaulted his nose as he paced the floor, back and forth, back and forth. Every time he turned, his mind conjured up pictures of the love of his life; Jensen laughing, Jensen smiling, Jensen fawning over puppies at the shelter, Jensen trying to bake a cake for his birthday, Jensen decorating their tree at Christmas, Jensen playing touch football with the kids in the apartment below theirs…

…Jensen was his entire life. How could he ever have been stupid enough to think that he could go a single day without him? Could sleep a single night without his warm body snuggled into his? They were two parts of a whole. Jensen had seen that, and had accepted him with all his faults because of it. 

And now he might die thinking that Jared didn’t love him like the light from a million stars.

Sobbing lightly, he forced his fumbling hands to pull out the picture in his wallet. Curling a little around the edges from age, the photo showed Jensen in faded jeans and a grey Henley, in a moment caught unawares; Jared had called him, and he’d turned around, and Jared had taken the shot. In Jensen’s shining green eyes, it was impossible not to see the fierce love and adoration, and his brilliant smile was still the most beautiful thing in Jared’s world. He sank to the chair, conceding the battle with his tears. 

“Mr. Padalecki?”

Jared looked up to see a doctor, and his heart leapt into his throat once more. He scrubbed hastily at his face. “Jared, please. How is he?” he demanded hoarsely.

“Mr…Jared,” the doctor nodded. “I’m Dr. Misha Collins, I treated a Mr. Jensen Ackles, and you were listed as his contact for medical power of attorney, so I assume there’s no problem talking to you about his condition.” The blue-eyed man gestured for Jared to follow him as he walked. “The most major injury sustained was the gun-shot wound to Mr Ackles’ upper scapula. Thankfully, he sustained no nerve-injury, and the bullet was safely removed in surgery, so with time, he will make a full recovery. In comparison, his other wounds are hardly significant; medically speaking of course, I’m in no way trivializing the pain it caused. He has a cut lip and the laceration on his head required six stitches. A few bruised ribs and various other abrasions, but the concussion is…troublesome.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Jared asked almost timidly.

“It means that he should have woken by now,” Dr. Collins stated bluntly. “He hasn’t. If he doesn’t come to in the next 24-36 hours, we’ll have to explore the possibility that his head injury wasn’t as minor as it seemed. And we’ll take it from there,” he concluded cryptically. Jared nodded helplessly, trying to keep his tears at bay.

“Can I see him?” he asked pleadingly. Dr. Collins softened in sympathy.

“He was being wheeled to the room as we spoke.”

Jared muttered his thanks before sprinting back to the room. Nothing in the world could have prepared him for the sight that met his eyes.

Jensen’s upper body was covered with bandages, and even where there was no gauze, there was bruised skin. An IV was attached to his hand, adding another little blue bruise to his pale skin, and little gizmos adorned his chest, presumably monitoring his heart rate. He was pale and unmoving, and while he’d always been smaller built than Jared- leaner, while Jared was buffer, shorter, while Jared was taller- now, he seemed exceptionally small and fragile. The urge to protect was multiplied ten-fold, and Jared pulled the chair as close to his boyfriend as he could.

Smoothing back his silky hair, and caressing his soft, freckled skin, Jared decided that even now, he wasn’t close enough. He felt like he was going crazy with fear and uncertainty, and God, he needed Jensen to wake up. He rounded the room to the side with Jensen’s uninjured shoulder and climbed into bed next to him, curling his body protectively around his Jen. 

“Jen?” he spoke softly to his prone form. “Baby, I’m so sorry. I’m an idiot. But baby, you can’t…you can’t leave me, okay?” Jared foraged on, ignoring the way his voice was cracking and breaking. He needed to get this out, and Jensen needed to hear it, and he didn’t know if his boyfriend could, but he was at a loss of what else he could try. “You can’t leave me, because you promised me you wouldn’t. You promised me, Jen. Remember that Christmas when your ex came into town and I got all petty and insecure? You followed me up to the roof of our apartment building and you promised me that you would never leave me. Plus, I don’t know that I could survive without you, Jen, so if you leave me, then I’m just going to have to follow you.” Jared sniffed, his tears falling onto Jensen’s skin and dripping down. “I love you so much. I love you more than there is water in the oceans and stars in the sky. I love you more and more every day, because you’re everything in the world to me. You’re my soul mate, and you’re my best friend. You make me want to be a better person and you make me want to change the world. When I look at you, I know that everything is going to be okay, because I’ve got you. And no matter what happens, I know you’re all I’ll ever need. I don’t know whether I ever told you this, baby, but you saved my life. You gave me a reason to remember the boy I used to be, and you’ve saved me every day since by loving me. I’m sorry that I forgot to remind you every day how much you mean to me. I’m sorry that I tried to protect you in the single dumbest way possible. But please, baby…please, don’t you ever think for one second that I don’t love you. You’re the light in my life and the love of my heart. If you wake up, I’ll do the laundry for a month. I’ll wash the dishes, too. I’ll even cook if I have to! I’ll let you get those two puppies you want from the shelter, and you can even call the girl Sadie if you want, as long as I get to name the boy Harley…Come on, Jen...please…please…don’t leave me.”

###

Hours passed, and Jared never gave up his post. The nurses stopped trying after a while, taking their readings and doing their check-ups around him, and Jared thought at one point, he’d heard sniffles from the petite brunette nurse.

Chris and Chad came by, and while Chad left after a couple of hours, Chris remained steadfast in the chair on the other side of Jensen’s bed. 

Jared kept absently stroking Jensen’s hair, letting his thoughts drift. “How did you and Jensen become friends?” he asked Chris suddenly, realizing that in 5 years, he hadn’t heard that story.

If Chris was startled by the sudden question, he didn’t show it. “It’s kind of a funny story, considering the dynamic you know now,” he snorted. “See, I was a really little kid. Always been a loner, so that didn’t do me any favors. We were 6 at the time, we were both playing in the park, but not together. I was heading to the swings, and this group of third-graders decided I would be easy to pick on. They shoved me, and next thing I know, Jensen’s in front of me, all righteous fury, and telling them to leave me alone. He wasn’t much bigger than me either, he just had a lot more fire,” Chris chuckled nostalgically, and Jared smiled. “When he actually connected one of the little demons, they got scared and left us alone. Jensen just sort of grinned at me and said “Hey, I’m Jensen. Don’t worry about them, I’ll protect you. I’ll push you, if you wanna play on the swings?” And just like that, we were friends.”

Jared huffed a small laugh. “Even then, he was all about defending people huh?”

“Yeah,” Chris nodded with a smile that Jared had never really seen before. “Jensen’s hella protective, he just don’t show it as much as I do. You wouldn’t believe it, but he was actually the first of the two of us to get into a fight, too.”

“No way?” Jared raised his eyebrows. “What happened?”

“It was all Jason Mamoa’s fault,” Chris shook his head fondly. “Him, and that stupid blueberry pie…”

###

Trading stories with Chris helped to take the edge off. He’d never seen the man so chatty before, and Jared knew half the reason Kane was entertaining his questions was because he was also harboring the hope that Jensen could hear them. 

The next nurse that came to check on Jensen turned to them with a concerned expression that neither man missed.

“Is he okay?” Chris asked, and Jared was glad, because he wasn’t sure how many more times he could ask that.

The nurse- Mary- bit her lip worriedly. “He hasn’t woken up,” she told them. “It’s been 28 hours. There isn’t even much of a change in any of his readings.”

Jared looked down at Jensen’s still face, tears burning the back of his eyes. He heard the nurse announce that she was calling the doctor back, and he dropped his forehead on to Jensen’s. He didn’t care that Chris was in the room. 

“Jen?” He whispered. “Baby? Wake up, okay? You gotta wake up. You gotta wake up right now. Please? You’re…” he hitched a breath. “You’re scaring me, baby. Superheroes aren’t supposed to be afraid. And they aren’t supposed to lose. I’m being selfish and invoking the Falcon card, Jen. That means that you have to wake up, else you’ll be ruining every superhero story in the world where the love of the hero’s life gets saved. You’ll break millions of kids’ hearts, baby.” He nestled further into Jensen. “You’ll break my heart. Come back to me, baby,” he whimpered helplessly. “Please come back to me.”

The only sound left was Jared’s heart shattering. 

But then…

“Can’t break the kids’ hearts, now, can I?”

Jared choked on his sob, looking up to be met with the most stunning sight of hazy, emerald green eyes. 

“Jensen!” he exhaled shakily, relief crashing over him and making him weak. “Jen, oh, baby…” he let his tears fall as he crashed his lips into his boyfriend’s, swiping his tongue over chapped lips and swallowing his subsequent moan. “Oh, God,” he pulled back abruptly. “You must be so thirsty! I’m an idiot…water…” he sat up, grabbing the glass of water on the bedside next to him and holding it to Jensen’s lips. Even as he drank tentative sips, Jensen kept his eyes on Jared over the rim. Jared met the gaze openly, trying to project his love without words.

“What happened?” Jensen asked gruffly, once he’d drank his fill. 

“You played Rambo again,” Chris muttered chidingly, at the same time that Jared softly rebuked,

“You took a bullet for me. Why would you do that, Jen? Why would you throw yourself in front of a bullet for me?”

“Because I love you,” Jensen answered simply, averting his eyes. “And that costume doesn’t make you bullet proof, Jay.” Jared lifted his face.

“Don’t look away from me,” he entreated quietly, desperately pleading. “I went too long without seeing those beautiful green eyes, don’t hide them from me, please.”

Jensen nodded, vulnerability shining bright in his eyes. “Chris,” he called, not looking away from Jared as he spoke. “Think you could stall the good doctor for me?”

“I got it,” Chris affirmed, ruffling Jensen’s hair before leaving. 

“I heard you,” Jensen told him, reaching up to gently caress Jared’s hair. “I heard it all. I understand why you did what you did.”

“Jen…”

“Wait, Jay,” Jensen held up a hand, and Jared halted his words. “You need to hear me, now.” Jared nodded, trepidation building a ball in his throat and stomach. “None of those issues are mine. They’re all yours. Sure, I wouldn’t mind being asked about my day, and hell yeah, I’d love if you didn’t miss dates as often as you do, but Jay…” Jensen huffed out a frustrated sigh. “Did I ever tell you why I got into law?”

Jared shook his head, and Jensen took his hand, drawing light circles on his wrist the way he always did when he was trying to comfort Jared or calm him down.

“When my family died in that crash…the foster home they sent me to…it wasn’t a nice place. The guy, Mark, he…he abused us. Pretty badly.” Jared fought to keep his growl contained, and made a mental note to call in favors and find the guy’s name, no matter what else came out of this discussion. “I used to pray every day for a big strong superhero to come and save me, and the other kids I was with. Eventually, my superhero came in a black suit and briefcase, and called himself a prosecutor. Turned out, someone saw my bruises and called the cops, and during the investigation, the lawyers came to ask me to testify. His name was Jeffery Dean Morgan, and even though he wasn’t the one who took me out of the house, he was the one who made me brave. Who believed in me, and told me I was strong and courageous enough to stand up to Mark, even though I’d been scared for so many years. More importantly, JD was the one who took Mark away. I decided right then and there that I wanted to be a superhero of the law. And then…you can imagine how I felt when I met my very own, very real superhero.” Jensen looked up at him, and Jared saw the love shining in his boyfriend’s eyes. “I am the one that gets to come home every day and hear about all the lives my boyfriend saved. All the people who’ll never have to suffer like I did, because my boyfriend is the brave, strong Falcon. I don’t feel neglected, because I know you’re doing what you’re doing to save lives. And besides, how could I feel neglected?” Jensen huffed a laugh. “You’re out saving the world, but you’re also the one who brings me chicken soup and grape popsicles when I’m sick. You watch my favorite movies with me, and you never complain when I sing along to the music in the car. You rub my feet at the end of the day, and you leave those ridiculous little notes everywhere to make me smile; on the fridge, on your pillow, on the bathroom mirror…you go all the way across town to get the brand of soap I like, and you always make sure I have oil in my car and thread in the tires. You cuddle me when I cry, even if it’s about something stupid, and you listen when I talk like what I’m saying could be the key to curing cancer.” Tears were flowing from both their eyes now, and neither of them tried to stop. “You love me better than anyone I’ve ever been with. I never needed you to ask about my day, and you treat me every single day like it’s our anniversary.”

Jensen chuckled, and took Jared’s face in his hands, wiping away tears and smoothing back his hair. “I’m not Mary Jane Watson, Jay,” he teased, “and I’m not Lois Lane either. I’m Jensen Ross Ackles. And I’m in love with Jared Tristan Padalecki, a.k.a. The Blue Falcon _because_ of his little quirks, not in spite of them.”

“I love you so fucking much,” Jared confessed roughly, his chest cavity feeling like it was on fire. “Say you love me too. Say you won’t leave me.”

“I love you too, Jay,” Jensen whispered. “And I did promise never to leave you, right? You’re stuck with me.”

Jared grinned. “I can think of worse fates,” he joked lightly, before leaning down to capture the lips of his best friend, his love, his soul mate, his life.

His Jensen.

Oh yeah.

Jared had the most awesome life in the whole world.

###


	2. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, okay! I hadn't intended on writing an epilogue for the boys, but the amazing response from you guys convinced me otherwise! For months, now, I would find my mind drifting to this fic, and I couldn't even begin to imagine how I was going to write their epilogue. 
> 
> I've been going through a tough time recently, and inspiration for this fic hit me like a freaking freight train. So I wrote, and I wrote, for two days, and I give you the most recently polished version of their epilogue. A lot of the more serious aspects here, hit extremely close to my own heart, especially with Jensen. I hope the inkling of truth in here resonates with y'all!
> 
> Sorry for the essay! Enjoy! <3

“I don’t understand the need for all this fuss.”

Jared loved his boyfriend more than anything and anyone in the whole world, but God, the man could drive him crazy. He took a deep breath, praying for patience.

“Jensen, we talked about this...”

“You talked,” Jensen corrected with a smirk. “I was checking out your ass. And your arms, more often than I care to admit.”

“Jen…” Jared intoned warningly. Jensen widened his eyes in mock innocence.

“What? Surprised that I have a thing for your arms?”

“Stop trying to change the subject.”

“You wanna talk about your ass instead? Or mine? I think we ought to talk about my ass,” Jensen nodded decisively. “I have a great ass.”

Fuck it, but the man had a point. “You do,” Jared nodded, “but that doesn’t change the fact that…”

“I think it changes everything,” Jensen argued, pouting slightly. “I can think of a load of things way more fun to do with my ass than parking it in this bed.” Jensen’s eyes darkened as he grinned. “Many things of which include you in the equation.”

“Fuck!” Jared hissed, shifting uncomfortably in his jeans. There was no doubt about Jensen’s plans, and Jared’s dick was more than interested in participating, and therefore all for Jensen’s escape plan.

“C’mon, Jay,” Jensen purred, dropping his voice an octave and nearly making Jared whimper with want. “This really is unnecessary.”

Jared groaned and glared at the love of his life. “You were fucking _shot_ , Jensen!” he snapped, finding it necessary to remind his boyfriend of that little fact that he had so conveniently seemed to have forgotten. “I hardly think it’s unnecessary to wait until Doctor Collins discharges you with a clean bill of health!”

Jensen pouted, crossing his arms over his chest. “I feel fine!” he whined. “You could have let me check out AMA a fucking week ago. Now we have to wait even longer because the good doctor wanted to do a scan of me, even though I’m fine! I think he just wants to keep me around because he likes my face.”

Jared growled, possessiveness settling in. He leaned over the bed and caught Jensen’s lips in a bruising kiss, nipping and licking his plush lips until they were kiss-swollen. “You’re _mine_ ,” he rumbled, unable to stop the words tumbling out.

After nearly losing Jensen, Jared had become intensely possessive, and it took him a while before he felt comfortable leaving Jensen’s side at all. His boyfriend had been extremely understanding through it all, likely needing the nearness and the contact just as much, if not more than he did. Jared shuddered again as he thought about it; for 35 hours, give or take, he’d had to face the possibility of losing the most important person in the world to him, and the darkness that had overwhelmed him in that time…

All that had kept him sane was the thought of getting Jensen back. If he had lost him, he didn’t have a doubt in the world that the darkness would have seeped in, and stayed there.

“Don’t,” Jensen whispered, bringing his mind back to the present. His boyfriend’s soft green eyes roved lovingly over his face. Jared didn’t even blink at how easily Jensen had detected the turn in his thoughts; truth told, his boyfriend could read him with the same ease as someone reading a book for a second, third, fiftieth time. “Don’t do that to yourself Jay. No what-ifs. You got me back, I survived. We’re here. Together. We’re okay.”

Jared nodded, and smiled weakly when Jensen scooted over in the bed, making room for him. He’d slept next to Jensen every night he was in here, ignoring the roll-away bed the nurses had brought for him. Slipping into what felt like his place, he wrapped his arms around Jensen, spooning him close to his chest, and nuzzling into his neck. “I love you,” he reminded Jensen. 

The green-eyed man smiled into his hair, pressing a small kiss there. “I love you too, Jay.”

“I feel like this belongs in a lifetime movie somewhere.”

Jared groaned, leaving his face snuggled into Jensen’s neck. The vibrations of his boyfriend’s chuckle strummed through him. 

“Hey, Chad,” Jensen smiled, and Jared was reminded that this was the first time Jen was seeing Chad since he’d been taken. Chad had been out of town on business, and even if he were here, between Jared and Chris, even his co-workers had been limited to seeing him for five minutes at a time. “I hear you were part of the superhero team that tracked me down? Thanks, man.”

Jared looked up to see his friend blushing, clearly uncomfortable with the genuine gratitude. “Yeah, well, Jared was gonna bitch and moan at me all night, otherwise.”

Jensen huffed a small laugh, sensing what the blonde haired man couldn’t say. “You should hear him when we run out of Gummi Bears at home,” he rolled his eyes dramatically. “You’d think someone just jump-started the apocalypse.”

“Crap!” Jared groaned. “You two are combining your powers of sarcasm and mockery to team up against me. I always feared this day would come.” He retreated to the sanctuary of Jensen’s neck.

“This is a good idea,” Chad nodded thoughtfully, looking speculatively at Jensen. “We’re always at an impasse when we have a go at each other, I’m beginning to feel like we’re becoming counter-productive.”

“It would be hella entertaining too, more so than our personal stale mates,” Jensen agreed, aiming a wicked grin down at Jared, who scowled wordlessly, wondering when his best friend and the love of his life had suddenly declared a peace treaty. “And I like switching things up. Keeps people on their toes.”

“Nobody needs to be on their toes,” Jared’s complaint was muffled by Jensen’s neck, and his own petulance. “ _People_ need to _relax_. _People_ need to have things _uncomplicated_ for once.”

“Where’s the fun in that?” Jensen asked, looking genuinely baffled. 

“You’ll soon find out that Jared’s priority is less fun, and more pensioner-playing-shuffleboard,” Chad tutted dramatically, strolling in to take the chair on Jensen’s side. “I’ve tried to break him in a little, Jen, but he’s so set in his ways, you know?”

“Can’t teach an old dog, Chad,” Jensen nodded sagely. Jared’s head shot up to glance at his boyfriend in shocked betrayal. Inwardly, he was happy to take the proverbial hit; anything that would bring Jensen’s laughter and that infamous smile of his back, and distract him long enough for Dr. Collins to analyze his scan and formally discharge him. 

“You should know that I tried though,” Chad put his hand to his heart. “I tried so hard, man.”

Jensen patted his shoulder consolingly, going along with the charade. “I know, Chad, I know. There’s just no talking to some people.”

“How do you live with it?” Chad asked, and if he didn’t know the man for practically his whole life, Jared would have thought they were having a serious discussion. “You’re a fucking saint, is what you are, man.”

“Do you know,” Jensen started indignantly, “that he made me wait a whole week to get discharged? I could’ve signed out AMA, man!”

“ _Dude._ ” Chad’s expression was something between aghast and pitying, and they were all but ignoring the 6’4” Padalecki-shaped Superhero curled into Jensen’s body now. “That’s like, _a whole week_ of ass-fucking that no one is gonna get back.”

Jensen flung his arms up as his own grievances were voiced. “I fucking know, right?!” he huffed. “And man, everyone knows that the life-affirming sex is the _only_ good part to being abducted by your superhero-boyfriend’s evil not-so-genius nemesis.”

“That’s true,” Chad nodded wisely. “S’like, ten times hotter than make-up sex. Scientific fact. True story.”

Jared groaned, tuning the rest of their conversation out as he settled more comfortably around his Jensen. 

Who the fuck knew that his soul mate could handle Chad like a pro? 

###

“I can’t even begin to believe that you spent the entire hour at the hospital bitching about me to Chad.”

Jensen turned, sending him a grin as he reached up to hook his coat on the rack in the hallway. “Call it payback,” he suggested.

“For not letting you sign out AMA?”

“For breaking up with me and flying _away_ from me,” Jensen returned lightly. “Something you once promised me you would never do.” 

Jared flinched. Although he knew his boyfriend had forgiven him, he didn’t think he would ever make amends with himself for leaving Jensen alone and vulnerable and hurt.  
That look of desolation that had been in Jensen’s green eyes that night? It had haunted Jared’s dreams every night for the past week.

He wasn’t surprised to feel arms encircling his waist, or feel the weight of Jensen’s head resting on his shoulder. “I’m sorry,” his boyfriend mumbled. “I’m a jerk for bringing it up. Too much time with Chad has obviously hindered my ability to realize when it is too soon to joke about something.”

Jared huffed a laugh, reaching behind himself to pull Jensen in front of him. He leaned down to press a small kiss to Jen’s plush lips before answering, “You have nothing to apologize for. In fact, I think I’m the one who’s scheduled for groveling for the indeterminable future.”

“Did you mean for me to get psycho-napped by an unhinged lunatic with a strung-up cattle fetish?” Jensen asked archly. “No? Then I think groveling might have to be deferred for a time when it’s actually warranted.”

Jared was torn between smiling and crying. He couldn’t understand how Jensen could be so forgiving about this, especially after everything he’d been through. Not only over the past two weeks, but over the past few months. 

“Why are you letting me off the hook so easily?” he asked quietly, while gently walking Jensen backwards to the couch. He stopped when they reached the armrest, spinning them around and falling over on to the couch, bringing Jensen on top of him. A small ‘oomph’ accompanied by a giggle made him smile, but after Jensen had snuggled back into him, he asked again. “Why aren’t you even the slightest bit mad at me?”

Jensen sighed, his warm breath washing over Jared. “You tortured yourself about this the whole week I was in hospital,” he murmured. “You spent two days thinking I was going to die. You agonized for the best part of a few hours because you were attempting to leave me to protect me.” Jen shook his head, gaze fixed on Jared’s chest. “You’ve been punished enough, Jay, I just want you to stop hurting now.”

Jared figured that his superpowers were totally the only thing that kept him alive, seeing as how his heart was currently a slushy puddle on the floor. “How’d I get so lucky to have you?”

Jensen traced absent patterns along his ribs, making him want to groan at the inadvertently erotic sensations his gorgeous boyfriend was stirring in him. He wanted to arch into the touch, eager to touch in return, but the lack of a witty and invariably sarcastic answer from Jensen was giving him pause. He knew his lover well enough to say that a lack of a smartass answer, meant that Jensen’s mind was on something far more serious than he would admit to without some serious prompting. 

“What’s on your mind, baby?”

“How’d I get so lucky to have you,” he repeated Jared’s words, his voice a whisper. “You know, when I was a kid, and when things got nasty with my foster father…I’d hole up in my room, and I’d think to myself _‘Don’t worry, Jen. There’s someone out there who’s going to love you so much that all the darkness is going to be chased away forever.’_ “ Jensen smiled ruefully. “I used to imagine what it would feel like when his arms would hug me safely to his chest. Or his hands would caress my face. Or his breath would tickle my neck. Or his thumb would press into the dent between my ribs. I used to think about how he would never make me feel worthless, and how he would heal all the wounds that were left behind by words that were harsher than any punches or kicks. I used to think about how he would tell me he loved me, and how he would think that having me around was more of a pleasure than a burden.”

Jared waited with bated breath for Jensen to pick up his tale, since he had stopped to regain his composure. It was exquisite torture, listening to Jensen describe his childhood; while he was soaking up the details like a starving man, eager to know about his lover’s past, it also tortured him to know the kind of pain Jensen had felt, knowing that there was nothing he could do to help the wide eyed little boy that had lied in bed waiting for a hero to show him the kind of love that he deserved from the fucking start. 

“I used to think about how finding him, would mean finally finding a place where I wouldn’t have to hide all the time. I’d feel safe and comfortable and loved and understood. And I would finally have a place where I belonged. In his arms, no matter how bad things got, just…right there in his arms.” Jensen propped himself up with his forearms against Jared’s chest, looking down at him solemnly. “And then every single time that you hug me, or caress my face, or press your thumb into the space between my ribs…every single time that you tell me I’m amazing, and that you love me…every single time that I fall into your arms, and feel like that was the place I was meant to be in for the rest of my life? I always ask myself that very same thing. How in all of holy fucking hell did I begin to deserve something like this, someone like you?” 

Jared only realized he was crying when his boyfriend reached to thumb the moisture from his cheek. Reaching up lightning fast, he caught Jensen’s wrist, bringing the delicate inside skin to his lips for a brief kiss. Jensen smiled at that, and Jared thought that if he ever managed to bottle the light that Jensen’s smile always brought, the sun would become moot to the world.

“It’s like I said before,” Jensen concluded, his voice only slightly shaky from the intense emotional rollercoaster. “How can I be mad at a missed date, or a forgotten anniversary, or…” Jensen chuckled slightly, “or a well-meaning, yet highly idiotic attempt to keep me safe? You’ve given me somewhere that I belong, Jay. The kind of love I was always so scared to hope for, but yearned for anyway. You made all my dreams come true. That kind of pales in comparison, don’t you think?” Jensen didn’t wait for him to answer, and that was okay with him, because superhero or not, he had not a fucking thing to say at that moment that wouldn’t end with him bursting into far-too-emotional sobs.

Jensen kissed him, slow and sensual, exploring the cavern of his mouth in a way that had him choking back a groan. “I let you off the hook, because Jay, you make up for everything, every time that you smile at me,” he finished. 

Questions buzzed insistently at the back of his mind; why did Jensen choose now to tell him about his tragic childhood? How did Jensen grow up to be the person he was with the background he had? What was the name of the guy that had hurt him, and how opposed was Jensen to the idea of maiming, torturing, and/or killing him? 

Honestly, Jared wasn’t fussy on that one. He would be totally fine with gross torture or slow deaths. 

All his questions slipped seamlessly from his mind when Jensen rocked downwards, grinding slowly into him without breaking their kiss. A strange sort of gasp escaped his throat as Jensen moaned, his arms wrapping around Jensen’s taut form. 

Before his boyfriend could tease him any longer, Jared was in the air. Jensen yelped at the sudden motion, clinging on to him like a spider monkey when he realized that neither of them were on solid ground. Jared laughed into Jensen’s neck, only chuckling harder when Jensen barely tapped him with a poorly-aimed kick. 

“Let me down, Padalecki!” Jensen bit off, his fists bunched tightly into the back of Jared’s shirt. “I swear to God…”

“You ever have sex in mid-air, Jen?” he asked huskily, biting and sucking at the sensitive skin beneath Jensen’s ear. Despite his fear and protests, his boyfriend moaned at the sensation, rolling his hips. Jared grinned, suckling the spot relentlessly until Jensen relaxed his death grip.

“Jesus, fuck, Jay,” Jensen whimpered, rubbing down on to Jared’s jean-clad erection. “You better not let me fall.”

The words struck Jared deeper than he expected. “Never,” he swore softly, his voice deepening. Jensen’s face lifted at that, and the soft smile he sent Jared, told him that his boyfriend wasn’t blind to the deeper meaning behind Jared’s promise. “I’ll never let you fall.”

Emboldened by the quiet assurance, Jensen tentatively sat up, straddling Jared’s thighs. Jared inwardly thanked his own muscle definition and superhuman abilities that managed to keep him suspended horizontally in mid-air. 

Gratifyingly, it didn’t take any concentration to remain airborne, and Jared suspected that they would have landed in a heap on the couch if it had. Seeming confident in his trust in Jared, Jensen shimmied down to balance across Jared’s legs, knowing that his super-strength made Jensen weigh as much as a feather soaking wet. Smirking saucily, Jensen flicked open the button of his jeans, tongue flicking across his bottom lip, unintentionally sexy enough to make Jared curse under his breath. 

Jensen’s nimble fingers freed his already hard cock from its aching confines. Without preamble, Jensen leaned down and flicked his tongue across the head of his dick, licking the beads of pre-come like it was a fucking ice-cream cone. His hands found their way to the back of Jensen’s head, fingers threading through his unfairly perfect, dirty blonde hair. 

Jensen glanced up at him from beneath his lowered lashes, and the sight was way hotter than it had any right being. Jared couldn’t help his hips snapping up lightly, and Jensen took the extra length into his mouth without complaint. Jared’s hand pressed ever so slightly against Jensen’s head, and taking the hint, Jensen swallowed him down easily until the head of his cock was hitting the back of Jensen’s throat.

Jared thought the lack of a gag reflex totally counted as one of Jensen’s superpowers. Personally, he also thought it was much more useful than his own super strength, super hearing and ability to fly. But that might have just been his own, biased opinion. 

“Fuck, baby,” he growled, sweat beading at his temple as Jensen bobbed up and down his length, stroking the part of his cock that wouldn’t fit in his pretty mouth. “Jesus, Jen, yes…just like that, baby…ngh…”

Jensen slowed his pace torturously, lifting off Jared’s cock and letting go with an obscene pop. Licking his swollen lips, Jensen grinned, one hand palming Jared’s heavy balls while the other continued to rub the vein along his rigid member. All the while, Jensen was grinding into his thigh, but before he could move to help, Jensen dipped his head down again, tongue teasing insistently against the slit of his cock. Jared’s hips snapped forward as he gasped out unintelligibly, and it was only his own hand wrapping almost painfully around the base of his cock that held off his orgasm.

“Need to be inside you, baby,” he husked out when Jensen arched an eyebrow at him in question. “Want to come inside you.”

“Fuck, Jay,” Jensen moaned, struggling to get his jeans off without falling off his precarious position. 

“That’s the plan,” Jared grinned wolfishly, deciding that super strength would be really wasted if he didn’t use it at least once to completely shred Jensen’s jeans off his pretty, pretty ass. 

His boyfriend pouted at him. “Those were my favorite jeans.”

“Yeah?” Jared rolled his eyes. “I’ll get you a new one.”

Jensen considered this as Jared inflicted the same brutal treatment on his own jeans. “That seems fair.”

“I’m glad you’re seeing it my way,” the superhero laughed. The sound soon stuck in his throat, however, when he reached back and his fingers encountered his boyfriend’s slick hole.

Jensen smirked at him. “I prepped myself while you were signing my release forms.”

Jared thought that, with everything going on, he was entitled to be a little desperate.

With a growl, he lifted Jensen clear off him before sinking him down on to his cock. Jensen whimpered loudly, hands clutching at his shirt for purchase and pupils blown almost black with lust.

“Fuck, yeah, Jay,” he moaned wantonly. “Please…fuck…”

Taking matters into his own hands, metaphorically speaking, Jensen swatted Jared’s hands from his hips, shoving down all the way in one rocking motion. Jared’s hands flew back to Jensen’s hips in a gasp, and they were both still for a moment, allowing each other to settle. 

When Jensen started to roll his hips teasingly, Jared could do little more than groan out his encouragements, broken mutters of _“fuck yes”_ and _“so good for me”_ and _“just like that, baby”._

With the desperation and the angst of the past week, neither of them lasted very long. Jensen rode him hard and after a few minutes, he exploded inside his boyfriend, his vision whiting with the force of his pleasure. Jensen followed quickly after when Jared jacked him sloppily, coming apart with a keening sound and painting their shirt-covered torsos with ropes of sticky come. 

Remembering belatedly that they were still about fifteen feet off the ground, Jared floated lazily back down on to the couch, allowing Jensen to take off their shirts and wipe them off with the already sticky material. He hummed happily when Jensen threw the shirts to the floor, making no move to get off him, instead snuggling into him on the couch. 

Jared lifted his bleary eyes open long enough to fix a gaze on Jensen that could only hold a fragment of all the love he had for him. “You’re the best thing that ever happened to me, Jensen Ackles,” he said, quiet, but with conviction. “Don’t you ever forget that, or think otherwise, and don’t you ever leave me, okay?”

“Never, Jay,” Jensen promised, love making his green eyes look molten. He smiled tenderly. “You’re my favorite Superhero.”

Jared would wholeheartedly deny ever thinking this...but Chad was right.

Life-affirming sex was way hotter than make-up sex. 

True story.

 

_~*Epilogue*~_

 

“We _had sex_ while I was flying, and you’re still afraid right now?” Jared asked incredulously, grinning at his boyfriend whose arms and legs were wrapped around him tighter than a boa constrictor. 

Jensen didn’t pick his head up from where he’d buried it in Jared’s neck, but the muffled words were easy enough to make out; “We did that _once_ , Jared, and that was like, twenty feet in the air, not _two hundred_ feet!”

He rolled his eyes, chuckling as Jensen tightened his hold even more the higher up they went. “I promise it’ll be worth it,” he offered, softening his tone when he realized that Jensen really was afraid of the height. Having lived at least half his life in the air, and the entirety of his life knowing he would never really fall, Jared had taken for granted that everyone loved heights. He felt a pang of guilt knowing that Jensen was scared of something he loved so much.

As though he sensed the turn Jared’s mind was taking- and that was an actual possibility- Jensen lifted his head marginally, pressing his lips against Jared’s pulse point. “It’s always worth it with you,” Jensen murmured steadily, despite the thrum of fear in his voice. “I know you won’t let me fall, it’s just a lot to get used to.”

Jared nodded encouragingly, his heart assuaged. “You’re doing great, baby. Almost there now.”

True to his word, within the next few minutes, Jared was settling them both safely on the ground. They were on a cliff rise overlooking the whole city, on an adorable little nook that Jared had discovered not so long ago that was not only comfortable with the grass and the surprisingly spacious area, but also offered a breathtaking view of the city.

Jensen gasped as he took in the view, wonder making his green eyes sparkle in that way that Jared loved more than he could say. He waited patiently, uncharacteristically quiet as he allowed Jensen to take in the beauty of the city lights that were so far below them now.

“Definitely worth it. It’s amazing and yet so terrifying,” his boyfriend finally breathed with a laugh, turning to smile beatifically at him. “But somehow I’m not even a little surprised. It generally is, with you.”

“What? Terrifying?”

“No,” Jensen shook his head with a grin. “Amazing.”

Jared smiled tenderly, setting down the picnic basket that Jensen had relentlessly mocked him about earlier. “How was your day?” he asked as he revealed his spoils; chocolate covered strawberries and the cheesecake that Jensen loved so much, from the coffee shop opposite their place. 

Jensen grinned in amusement at the question. It was four months after the incident, but not a day went by anymore, where he didn’t ask his lover about his day, and about the cases he was working on. Jared was determined never to neglect him like that again, determined never to make it feel like Jensen came second to anything in his life. His resolve meant that there was more than one night where he’d woken Jensen up, only to ask about his day, and while Jensen had met him with initial irritation, Jared liked to think that he now enjoyed their frequent midnight talks as much as he always did. 

Call him crazy, but Jared thought that they were closer than ever, now that he was finally giving his relationship the attention it deserved.

“Average,” Jensen’s answer brought him back from his thoughts. “I found the smoking gun in the Callahan case. I’m pretty sure I can get a guilty conviction.”

“That’s great,” Jared frowned, “so why was it only average?”

Jensen wrinkled his nose. “I have to work with Matt.”

A flare of jealousy burned in Jared’s gut, but it was promptly extinguished with amusement when he remembered how Jensen had parted ways with Bomer. “You could always deck him,” Jared smirked. “Again.”

“You are never going to let me live that down, are you?”

Jared chuckled. “I still can’t believe that my docile boyfriend resorted to violence without even trying to talk it out,” he teased. 

“Yeah, well,” Jensen scowled adorably, “it was his own fault for shoving his nose into my personal life.”

“It’s funny that you never told me you were a total hardass, Jen,” Jared needled gleefully. “It’s kinda hot, actually.”

“I didn’t want to take the whole Superhero thing away from you,” Jensen retorted haughtily. “I mean, one of us has to be Nick Fury, dude.”

Jared laughed and Jensen’s scowl melted to be replaced with an exasperated, but fond grin. Without prompting, Jensen settled himself on the ground between Jared’s legs, leaning his back against the superhero’s chest. 

Jared pulled his boyfriend in close, leaning down to press a kiss into his neck before adding, “If he comes on to you again, though, I’m going to punch his stupid face in.”

Jensen laughed, the sound echoing loudly in their deserted haven. “Duly noted, you possessive jerk.”

“You love it.”

“More than anything.”

Jared grinned, feeding Jensen a strawberry and enjoying the orgasmic moan it ripped from his mouth. He willed himself to have some self-control; ideally, he would be ravishing Jensen right up on this cliff rise in just a little while.

His hand drifted to his pocket, where he caressed the little velvet box hidden there, willing his nerves not to get the better of him. 

He just needed to get Jensen to say yes.

“Hey baby?”

“Mm?”

“I have a question for you.”

###

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special shout out to alycat, who so frankly pointed out what Jared and Jensen were missing from their lives ;-) Lol! You know what I mean! 
> 
> -Jay

**Author's Note:**

> No smut! Let me know if y'all would like a companion piece to this, and I might add some in an epilogue! ;-)


End file.
